Imperial College of London Diabetes Centre (ICLDC), a Mubadala Healthcare provider in Abu Dhabi, has launched a new programme to tackle type 2 diabetes with a tailored weight-loss programme. The aim of this programme is to bring type 2 diabetes into remission, thereby preventing or delaying complications and increasing patients’ life expectancy.
According to Dr Emad George, medical director and consultant endocrinologist and diabetologist at ICLDC, scientists believe that storing too much fat in the liver and pancreas affects how type 2 diabetes develops, and losing this fat can help put the disease into remission.
“Losing at least 15 kg significantly increases your chances of achieving type 2 diabetes remission, and the clinic offers patients a way to do this that is safe, structured, medically monitored and with the necessary support,” he explained.
While ICLDC, in partnership with its fellow Mubadala Healthcare provider Healthpoint, already offers weight-loss surgery to patients who qualify for it, this is the first time it is offering a structured diet-based programme at its Abu Dhabi branches.
Dr Mohgah El Sheikh, a consultant endocrinologist and diabetologist at ICLDC said that the person’s current weight and how recently they were diagnosed with diabetes are among factors that can affect the outcome of the programme, and that remission doesn’t mean the patient is cured. She defines remission as a state where the patient will not have type 2 diabetes, will not need diabetes medications, and will have normal results on the HBA1c test, which measures the average level of blood sugar over the past two to three months.
“The more recently you were diagnosed, the better the results will be. We do not yet know how long a remission of type 2 diabetes will last, but the key is maintaining the weight loss, and possibly losing more weight at a later stage,” Dr El Sheikh explained.
“That is why our programme includes support to assist patients change their lifestyle in the long term. There is also a relapse management plan to help them get back on the right path.”
ICLDC dietitian Fatima Al Haliaqa explains that patients will be able to choose between following a very low calorie diet (VLCD), which is a mealreplacement plan, or a low-carbohydrate plan that limits total carbohydrate intake to a maximum of 100 g per day.
“Patients always ask me which is the best diet for type 2 diabetes, and my answer is that it’s the one they can stick to,” said Al Haliaqa.
The Diabetes Remission Clinical Trial (DiRECT) this year released the second year results of its study, showing VLCD is effective in inducing sustained remission for at least two years for more than a third of people with type 2 diabetes, with remission greatest in those losing at least 15 kg of weight. 
